Stopper.



T. G. SPELLING.

STOPPBR.

APPLIGATIONFILBD SEPT. 11, 1913.

Patented NOV. 24, 1914.

v Meme/13o W iii a 1. Ea I U" PHOTULITHQ. WASHINGTON. D. C.

THOMAS C. SPELLING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STOPPER.

Application filed September 11, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Tnomrs C. SPELLING,

citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of NewYork and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Stoppers, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing;

This invention relates to improvements in stoppers made of cork, orother soft or yieldable substance, and has for its object the provisionof a cork which may be readily extracted, unimpaired, to enable repeateduse of the same, and to eliminate the ordinary and necessary use of acork screw or the like with its attending liability to tear or break,and consequently destroy the cork as an effective sealing agent insubsequent use.

My invention comprehends the provision of a stopper of the characterdesignated with an improved means-accompanying the same, and formingpart thereof, adapted to project without a bottle mouth in position tobe readily grasped in withdrawing the cork intact from the bottle.

Broadly, the invention embraces a pull member formed separately of thecork, and of sufficiently strong and durable material to enable theperformance of its expected functions, and provided with improvedanchoring means to insure extraction of the cork therewith, saidanchoring means including barbed prongs deflected laterally into thesubstance of the cork and firmly embedded therein to resist the pullingstrains exerted during the withdrawing action of the stopper.

More specifically, the invention comprises the combination with a corkbody, of means adapted to be seated therewithin, and bearing a barbedprong or prongs located with reference to said means to facilitate aninsertion of the same into a suitable slitted portion or recess formedin the cork, and said means and prongs being so related as to causelateral deflection and penetration of the prongs into the substance ofthe cork upon a partial withdrawing movement of said means, and whichpenetration will be suificient to secure the cork, means, and barbstogether against further relative Specification of Letters Patent.

'vice as shown in Fig. 2

Patented Nov. 24, 1914.

Serial No, 789,368.

movement, so that additional pulling force w ll result in extracting thecork and its associated parts intact and capable of renewed service asan efficient stopper.

To facilitate the imparting of a full and complete understanding of theinvention, I will illustrate herein the preferred embodiment of thesame, together with other embodiments thereof, and the details in thearrangement and combination of be appreciated from a reading of thespeci' fic description hereinafter contained in connection with theaccompanying drawings forming a part hereof, and wherein suchembodiments are illustrated.

In the drawings, Figure l is a vertical sectional view through a corkshowing my improvements as originally inserted therein, Fig. 2 is asimilar view showing the pull means in their anchored relation to thecork, Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the detaken at right angles to thesection of the latter view.

Fig. i is a transverse sectional View of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an elevationof a modified form of device, Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of animplement employed in connection with the proper seating of the pullmember in the cork Fig. 7 shows a modified Wire retaining means, Fig. 8is a sectional view through a guiding shell facilitating theintroduction of still another form of my pull member; Fig. 9 is asimilar view with the pull member in place in the cork, the shell beingdrawn outwardly over the projecting prongs of the same, Fig. 10 is atransverse sectional view, Fig. 11 is a detail perspective view, andFig. 12 is an edge view of the stem portion 9 of the wire anchoringmeans of Figs. 8 and 9.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, wherein like referencecharacters designate corresponding parts in the several views, Arepresents a cork of usual formation and conventional shape, although itmight be of any shape desired, or other substance of a soft or yieldablenature, as previously stated, the cork being provided with a slit orincision B opening from the top of the cork as at b and terminating inthe lower portion of the cork as at b, so that said incision does notpass through the substance of the cork but is confined parts will I entr ly.

therewithin to the end that the sealing characteristic of the cork isnot lessened by the incision.

C represents a carrier comprising a small slab or plate, conveniently ofmetal, wood, or other suitable substance, the same being, generallyspeaking, oblong in shape, and of a suflicient thickness to provide apair of grooves c, in one face of the plate extending from the upper endof the same, in a converging relation, downwardly to near the lower endof the plate where they communicate as at c with recesses D formed atthe opposite edges of the plate by inclining said edges inwardly as atcl above right angle shoulder portions E, similarly projected inopposite directions to constitute the bottoms of the recesses, andoperating as hereinafter set forth, the extreme bottom edge of the platebeing tapered or rounded as at F to facilitate the insertion thereof, aswill also presently appear.

G is a pull member formed either entirely of a single piece of wire, asshown, or partly of a suitable cord and partly of wire, as will beobvious, the intermediate or looped portion 9 of which is of substantialfullness to enable the passageof a finger therethrough,

and the depending opposite runs or branches g of the wire constitutingthe stem being seated in the grooves 0 in the plate. The portions g ofthe wire, to which I have just alluded, have offset terminal portions Hat the lower ends of the same adapted to pro ject out of the lower endsof the grooves a and through the recesses D into the substance of thecork A, the terminal portions being sharpened at their points and provided at said points with suitable barbs, or roughened or groovedmembers 7b. The carrier plate C is also provided with t 'ansverseapertures J through which a wire K may be wound on the plate, as bestshown in Fig. 3, with the terminals of such wire projecting outwardlyfrom the lowermost aperture, and pointed and barbed as at 75.

By reference to Fig. l, a means for clamping the wire in the grooveswill be seen as constituted by offsetting or pressing inwardly theflanged portions 0 of the metal plate C constituting the outer wall ofthe grooves c, this deflection of the flanges serving 'to bind the wiresin the grooves, as is apparent. In some instances, it will not benecessary to bind the wires in the grooves, and in such cases the plateor slab may be formed of wood or similar material and a thin piece ofpaper or the like L (Fig. 7) may be laid across the wires and pasted inplace to prevent the escape of the wires from the grooves c.

From the foregoing description, the method of inserting and securing thepull to the cork may be readily followed to wit: the incision B havingbeen made in the cork,

the pull with the prongs H occupying the position shown in Fig. 1, thatis, along the inclined walls d with their points projecting slightlyoutwardly and downwardly beyond the edge of the plate C, may be forcedinto the interior of the cork, the tapered lower end F facilitating thisoperation, until the lower end of the plate engages the base of theopening formed by the incision. In this inserting operation, the prongswill preferably be drawn through the substance of the cork, the latteryielding or cutting suiliciently for that purpose. Following this step(illustrated in Fig. l) the pull 9 is engaged by the finger orequivalent means and the plate C raised until its upper edge is flush,or nearly so, with the upper surface of the cork, in which raisingaction of the plate the prongs H will be forced outwardly intoapproximately the position shown in Fig. 2, where the pointed endsthereof have penetrated a substantial distance into the substance of thecork, and the barbs it will overcome any withdrawing tendency thereofincident to the further pulling movement of the loop g, and in thisconnection the shoulders E will prevent straightening out of the prongsin line with the grooves 0, thereby facilitating the maintainance of thepenetrated relation of the prongs to the substance of the cork. Toassist in this lateral deflection of the prongs H the wire G is weakenedas at N (the juncture of the edge recess 1) and groove 0), which willpermit the bending of the wire at this point and until obstructed by theshoulders E as previously set forth. T his same raising of the plate Gin the cork also causes the prongs 7a to similarly embed themselves inthe substance of the cork at right angles to the embedding of the prongsfl. In some cases, as in connection with relatively large corks, orwhere relatively heavy wire is employed, or in fact in every instance,the seat ing of the anchor in its final position in the cork body may befacilitated by an implement such as illustrated in Fig. 6, the samebeing merely an inverted lJ-shaped strip of metal 1*? having notchedlegs a adapted to be slipped over the edge of the plate C (see dottedlines l), and held in place while the plate is pulled upwardly so thatthe prongs lil'. will be positively forced to ride outwardly through thenotched portions at, "ather than rely entirely on the prongs feelingtheir own way, so to speak, into the substance of the cork, although thelatter operation vill probably in the main be relied upon.

In Fig. 5, I have illustrated a modified form of device in connectionwith which the plate C is entirely eliminated. Here, the wire forms theloop 0, the depending branches 0 (or stem) of which are formed withreturn bends 0 pointed and barbed as at 0 A strip of paper, for example,P holds the return bend portions 0 in parallel relation to the stemduring the insertion of the device in a slitted cork, and would simplytear away when the device of this figure is partially elevated in thecork to deflect the prongs outwardly into the substance of the cork andupon the same principle underlying the insertion and operation of thedevice of the other figures of the drawings previously discussed. Thestem portions of the wire, in this instance, are fastened togetheragainst spreading by a drop of solder or the like, 0

In Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 I have illustrated still another embodiment ofmy invention wherein the pull part of the cork is formed of wire loopedas at Q and having the depending branches or stem portions g securedtogether (preferably by paper) as at R to fasten the same against undueseparation in the initial inserting movements, and to provide a shoulderr. The ends of the wire are barbed as at g and normally spread outwardlyas at S.

T is a tube in the nature of a thin rectangular cage or guide shelladapted to be inserted in the slitted cork to facilitate theintroduction of the pull member of the cork into the latter, the narrowedge walls 25 of the shell being provided with downwardly flaring outletopenings U, through which the pointed ends 9 of thepull wire will enterand be guided outwardly by the end portions ofdownwardly turnedseparated, but closely associated, shelves or flanges of the shell (Fig.8) and which normally constitute a bottom to close the space within thetube below the openings U, as approximately indieated in Fig. 10. Theshelves flaring in a downward direction to some extent as they approacheach other, help the prongs in finding entrance to the openings U, aswill be apparent. To force the pull wire dowir wardly and laterally withsul'licient force to adequately penetrate the cork body, a needle-liketool V, having an offset split grip or jaw Q) at its lower end may beengaged with the stem portions of the wire above the abutment orshoulder r constituted by reducing the wire, as shown, the lowerportions of the wire in this instance being preferably flat (Fig. 12).By pressing the tool downwardly, of course the wire is also carrieddownwardly, the tie paper split therefrom, and the branches of the pullwire caused to deliect outwardly or laterally as previously stated. Toenable withdrawal of the tube or shell, and repeated use thereof, theedge walls of the shell below the openings U are slitted as at \V topermit the embedded prongs passing therethrough, after they havesimilarly passed through the shell portion thereabove and betweentheshelves g the latter yielding suiiiciently for that purpose,'and allthat is necessary is to with draw the: shell under sufficient force tospread the said shelves and sides X of the shell apart,- thelatter beingyieldable for that purpose, while normally constituting a relativelysharp edge Y to assist in inserting the shell in the cork, as will beapparent.

The tool V may be manipulated by hand, but it is the intention ofapplicant to operate the same by machinery, wherein the tube will beheld in a fixed position with reference to the corks supported in asuitable carrying means, and with this understanding we state thatZ is aspring bulge or catch formed with or carried by the shank of theneedle-like tool V adapted to yield with the shank of the tool in aninward direction when the same is being inserted into the shell past ashoulder z at the top of the shell, but to project outwardly below saidshoulder when the tool is raised in its withdrawing movement, so thatsuch engagement will enable the tool to pull the shell out of the cork,when the substance of the cork may close up the space previouslyoccupied by the shell and around the wire pull, the wire being the onlyelement intended to remain as a permanent part of the cork in thisinstance, .as distinguished from the form of Fi s. 1, 2 and 3, where thecarrier andi wire both remain permanently in the cor z.

I will not claim herein those specific branches of the present inventionembraced within the method, and in the embodiment of the first threefigures of the drawing inasmuch as these, in keeping with the examinersrequirement to that end, more properly constitute subject matter fordivisional application. I

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is a 1. A stoppercomprising a cork body, a pull therefor carried permanently thereby as aportion of the stopper, said pull compris ing a shank extendinglengthwise of said body and to the top thereof to constitute an engagingpart, and an integral extension of said shank permanently offsettherefrom to constitute a fixed anchoring portion'penetrating andembedded directly in the cork substance in a plane at an angle to theshank, the end of the offset portion remote from its juncture with theshank being provided. with a cork engaging projection to preventwithdrawal thereof through the cork substance, substantiallyv as and forthe purpose described.

2. Means for inserting wire pullv means in corks comprising a shell of arelative size to be substantially completely embedded in the cork andhaving longitudinal and lateral passages for the wire, and guiding meansfor bodily bending the wire to constitute integral shank and offsetportions within the cork substance to permanently fix the pull member insaid substance and prevent. removal thereof, said shell being open atthe top of the pull to permit a finger-engaging portion of the wire toproject therethrough above the upper surface of the cork.

3. The combination with a pull for stoppers of the character describedcomprising oppositely disposed prongs associated with an outwardlyprojecting finger engaging portion, of separate means removableindependently of the pull adapted to be inserted in the cork tofacilitate the positioning of said prongs, substantially as described.

1. Means for inserting wire pull members in. corks, comprising a siiellhaving suitable openings for the wire, means for causing lateraldeflection of the wire into the cork body, and means permittingwithdrawal of the shell over the wire, substantially as described.

5. Means for inserting wire pullmembers in corks, comprising a shellhaving lateral outlet openings for the wre and separable portionstherebelow permitting the wire to pass through the shell in withdrawingthe latter.

6. Means for inserting wire pull members in corks, comprising a shellhaving lateral outlet openings for the wire and separable portionstherebelow permitting the wire to pass through the shell whenwithdrawing the latter, in combination with a tool for forcing the wirethrough the shell and into the cork, substantially described.

7. Means for inserting wire pull members in corks, com arising shellhaving lateral outlet openings for the wire and separable portionstherebelow permitting the wire to pass through the shell whenwithdrawing the latter, in. combination with means for forcing the wirethrough the shell and into the cork, said tool being formed to engagethe shell. to as" from the cork.

8. it pull member for corks, comprising a finger engaging portion, andseparated prongs carried thereby adapted to be embedded laterally ofsaid engaging portion into the body of the cork, and a destructible tiemember for the shanks of the prongs, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

9. A. pull member for corks comprising a finger engaging portion, andseparated barbed prongs carried thereby adapted to be embedded laterallyof said engaging portion into the body of the cork, and a de- 'st inwithdrawing the same structible tie member for the shanks of the prongs,substantially as and for the purpose described.

10. The combination with a pull for stoppers of the character describedcomprising a prong associated with an outwardly projecting fingerengaging portion, of means adapted to be inserted in the cork to causepermanent interlocking of the prong with the substance of the corksubstantially as describ d.

11. The combination with a pull for stoppers of the cha acter describedcomprising a prong associated with an outwardly projecting fingerengaging portion, of separate means removable independently of the pulladapted to be inserted in the cork to facilitate the positioning of theprong, substantially as described.

12. The combination with a pull for stoppers of the character describedcomprising a prong associated with an upwardly projecting fingerengaging portion, of means adapted to be inserted in the cork to effectpositioning of the prong when said means moves in one directiononly,substantially as described.

13. The combination with a pull for stoppers of the character describedcomprising a prong associated with an outwardly projecting fingerengaging portion, of means adapted to be inserted in the cork to effectpositioning of the prong when said means moves in one direction but tofree itself rel ative to the prong when moved in another di rection.

1 1. In combination with a cork stopper, a pull therefor, and an insertcoiiperating with the pull comprising a shell through which a portion ofthe pull is passed, said shell being approximately completely embeddedwithin the cork and having open lower and upper portions, the pullhaving an under projecting portion passing through the lower opening ofthe shell and into the substance of the cork and also having a fingerengaging portion projecting out of the upper opening of the shelladapted to be pulled when extracting the cork, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS C. SPELLING.

\Vitnesses EMANUEL Mnrnnson, LILLIAN GUSTAFSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

